USER MANUAL

ABBEY ROAD
ORCHESTRA

HIGH PERCUSSION
CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 3
DOWNLOADING & INSTALLING 4
THE SPITFIRE APP PREFERENCES 5
THE DEDICATED PLUGIN 6
STANDARD INTERFACE (QUICK LOOK) 7
PRESET SELECTOR 9
MAIN CONTROLS 11
TECHNIQUE SELECTOR 12
TECHNIQUE EDITOR 14
SIGNAL MIXER 15
MAIN FX 17
TOP MENU 18
MICROPHONE SIGNALS 23
INSTRUMENTS / TECHNIQUES 25
APPENDIX A — FAQS AND TROUBLESHOOT 30
APPENDIX B — DRUM MAPPING GUIDE 34
APPENDIX C— DEFAULT CC MAPPINGS 35

ABBEY ROAD ORCHESTRA - HIGH PERCUSSION 2 USER MANUAL

INTRODUCTION
A meticulously curated selection of 62 percussive instruments performed by internationally
renowned percussionist Joby Burgess and expertly captured in the legendary acoustic space that
is Abbey Road Studio One. Focus on bringing life to your compositions with tailored features—
such as soft takeover, voice choking and right/left hand mapping. Add a layer of unparalleled
realism with a variety of beaters and playing styles.

The second instalment of our Abbey Road Orchestra, crafted for professional composers,
producers and sound designers. Abbey Road Orchestra will bring you every single section of the
orchestra in breathtaking detail, captured in the worlds most famous recording studio.

QUICK SPECS MAC

Mac OS X 10.15 to OS14

Minimum: 2.8GHz i5 (quad-core), 8GB RAM

Recommended: 2.6GHz i7 (six-core, 2019), 16GB

RAM (2019), Apple Silicon

SSD drive for installs advised!

WINDOWS

Windows 10 and Windows 11 (latest Service Pack,

64-bit)

Minimum: Intel 2.8 GHz i5 (quad-core) or AMD

Ryzen 5.

Recommended: Intel 2.6 GHz i7 (six-core, 2019) or

AMD R7 2700.

SSD drive for installs advised!

(32 bit DAWs not supported)

• Download Size = 98.05GBs

• Dedicated plugin (AU, VST2, VST3, AAX)

ABBEY ROAD ORCHESTRA -HIGH PERCUSSION 3 USER MANUAL

DOWNLOADING & INSTALLING

Thank you for buying Abbey Road Orchestra - High Percussion. If you are new to Spitfire Audio
you can get up to speed here: https://www.spitfireaudio.com/about/

First though, grab the ‘Spitfire Audio App’ from this link, this app will enable you to download the
library: http://www.spitfireaudio.com/info/library-manager/

THE SPITFIRE AUDIO APP 1. TABS the default tab is My Products, which
shows all of the libraries on your Spitfire
When you launch the app you will be Account. Downloads will show currently
prompted to login using the same details downloading products.
you use at our site. Then you’ll see the page
pictured below: 2. FILTERS Clicking these filters will quickly
display products you’ve yet to install, those
already installed, and any available updates.
Clicking again will remove the filter.

3. LIBRARY All libraries and plugins in your

collection will appear with their artwork on
the My Products tab. Clicking this artwork
will open the product page. This is a great
place to find information such as system
requirements and instructions as well as
Reset and Repair options.

4. INSTALL/UPDATE buttons allow you to

quickly start a download directly from the My
Products tab, instead of clicking through to
the Library. Next to the button the size of the
download is shown.

1 2

ABBEY ROAD ORCHESTRA - HIGH PERCUSSION 4 USER MANUAL

THE SPITFIRE APP PREFERENCES

If this is your first time using the Spitfire

Audio App for a download you may wish to
first navigate to the Settings tab. Here you
can set the Default Content location for
where you wish to download your libraries.
You can also you can set the default VST2
install location to the folder where your DAW
expects to find VST files.

Here you can also enable Auto Login to save

time in future.

Once you are happy with your preferences,

click the Install button for the library. This is
either directly on My Products tab under the
library artwork, or it can be found by clicking
on the library image and clicking the install
button on the page that appears.

Clicking either of these will prompt you for a

location, the default content location in your
preferences will be suggested but you can
select any suitable location. If installing from
a hard drive, ensure that you choose the
drive as the location.

Once you are happy with the location click

Download.

After clicking install you will be directed to

the Downloads tab where you can watch the
progress if you like. You can of course leave
the Downloads tab and start other downloads
but at this point you should leave the Spitfire
App open until the download completes.

ABBEY ROAD ORCHESTRA -HIGH PERCUSSION 5 USER MANUAL

THE DEDICATED PLUGIN

Abbey Road Orchestra - High Percussion is

its own, self contained plugin built for VST,
AU and AAX, so once you’ve downloaded
and installed you’re ready to go.

LOGIC PRO X

• On a fresh project, a track dialogue box will

automatically pop up

• Choose ‘Software Instrument’, and then

look beneath the ‘Instrument’ dropdown

• Select AU Instruments > Spitfire Audio >

Abbey Road Orchestra

CUBASE

• Right-click the track window and choose

‘Add Instrument Track’

• Underneath the ‘Instrument’ dropdown,

choose Abbey Road Orchestra

• Select ‘Add Track’

PRO TOOLS

• Go to the ‘Track’ menu at the top of the

screen, and select ‘New’

• In the pop-up, select Stereo and Instrument

Track, and press ‘Create’

• In the first Insert slot, select multichannel

plug-in and ‘Instrument’

• You should see the Abbey Road Orchestra

available as an option

ABBEY ROAD ORCHESTRA - HIGH PERCUSSION 6 USER MANUAL

STANDARD INTERFACE (QUICK LOOK)

THE ABBEY ROAD ORCHESTRA

OPENING YOUR FIRST PRESETS 1. TOP MENU

When you first open Abbey Road Orchestra, 2. PRESET SELECTOR

this is what you will see.
3. MAIN CONTROLS

4. TECHNIQUE SELECTOR

ABBEY ROAD ORCHESTRA -HIGH PERCUSSION 7 USER MANUAL

 SIGNAL MIXER

CONTROLLERS

KEYBOARD & INFO

Hovering over the keyboard with the mouse displays information about the articulation
mapped to each key. For example it identifies which hand is used when Right/Left
Mapping is enabled.

ABBEY ROAD ORCHESTRA - HIGH PERCUSSION 8 USER MANUAL

 PRESET SELECTOR

1 8

4 5 6 7 9
2

10

1. PRESET NAME 4. INSTRUMENT GROUP

Here you can see the currently selected As you scroll through the available presets,
preset. the instrument group is displayed here.

2. CLEAR FILTERS 5. STAR

Click here to show all instruments at once. Favourite to add to the “starred” filter.

3. FILTERS 6. PREVIEW
Click on a filter to only show those preset Play back a short example of the preset
grouped by the filter. without having to load it. Enormously helpful
when choosing a sound.

ABBEY ROAD ORCHESTRA -HIGH PERCUSSION 9 USER MANUAL

7. PRESET LIST

Scroll through the list of presets here.

Double-click to load a preset or click the
‘Load’ button.

8. NEXT, PREVIOUS AND SAVE

With the presets view collapsed, you will

be able to see the Next, Previous and Save
icons.

Next and Previous will send you to the next

available preset - if you have a filter enabled,
you will scroll through the filtered set of
presets.

Save allows you to save your own preset,

click save, name the preset and it will appear
under the “user” filter.

9. INFORMATION

Hover over on the “i” icon to see some

information about the preset.

10. LOAD

Select a preset and then press “load” (or

double-click the preset).

ABBEY ROAD ORCHESTRA - HIGH PERCUSSION 10 USER MANUAL

MAIN CONTROLS

1 2 3 3.1

1. VOLUME Right click on any of these controls to assign

them to a MIDI controller. Remember that if
Often referred to as “Expression” in our you assign a MIDI controller to a parameter
Kontakt Libraries, this is a simple level via the knob, the MIDI controller will follow
control for you to adjust along with... the parameter rather than being permanently
assigned to the knob.
2. DYNAMICS
Reverb - Increase to add reverberation to the
Adjust the dynamic layer that you are playing sound.
here, use in conjunction with the volume to
make your performances sound so much Tightness - At 0% this control cuts further
more musical. By default, this only affects into the sample start to make the response
long articulations. I.e Rolls, unless the sharper.
behaviour is altered in the preset settings.
This control is often used when manually
recording into your DAW.
3. KNOB
Turn it up afterwards and instead use a
The configurable knob allows you to control
negative delay into your DAW for ultimate
any of the other available parameters for the
reality.
particular technique.

Hover over the knob and it will turn yellow.

Click and you will be able to assign any of

the remaining available controls to the knob
(3.1)

ABBEY ROAD ORCHESTRA -HIGH PERCUSSION 11 USER MANUAL

TECHNIQUE SELECTOR

15 4 5
6
1

7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
3

1. TECHNIQUE SWITCHER 6. TECHNIQUE TRIGGER

Click to select a technique. Shift-Click to With the technique trigger section you can
select multiple techniques. The red dot in the choose to trigger techniques using various
top left shows which technique(s) will play, parameters:
the black outline shows which technique will
be affected by any changes you make to the KEYSWITCH: Pick a key on the keyboard
other options in this page. that will select this technique. The selected
keys will show up in green for unselected
2. VIEW SELECT techniques and in orange for selected
techniques.
Choose between the Technique Switcher,
Mixer, Effects and the auto arranger. The CC RANGE: Choose a CC# and a range of
Technique Switcher and Effects are covered values (or a single value) for the control that
in the following chapters of this manual. you want to trigger this technique.

VEL. RANGE: Switch technique based on

3. TECHNIQUE NAVIGATION
how hard you are playing. You might want to
trigger rolls when playing softly and singular
This option is visible when more than 8
hits when playing hard.
articulations are available. Click the right
arrow to access additional techniques.
MIDI CHANNEL: Switch techniques based on
the incoming MIDI channel.
4. KEYSWITCH ADJUST
SPEED: Switch technique based on the
Click and drag to move the keyswitches to speed of playing. Specify the time interval
the left or right on your keyboard. between notes to switch to a particular
technique.
5. LOCK
PROGRAM CHANGE: Switch technique based
Click here to lock off the technique section on the 127 values provided for Program
and prevent any unwanted changes. Changes.

ABBEY ROAD ORCHESTRA - HIGH PERCUSSION 12 USER MANUAL

7. ACTIVATE 13. TWO HANDED LAYOUT

Choose between “NORMAL” and “LATCH” for Two handed mapping when enabled places
your technique switching. a duplicate of the drum mapping two
octaves higher on the keyboard.
A “normal” keyswitch will change articulation
and remain on the changed articulation until Note: this function is intentionally disabled
the next keyswitch is pressed. for ‘All in One’ techniques due to space
constraints on the keyboard.
Latch will switch articulation until the
keyswitch note is released. On release, the
keyswitch returns the original articulation. 14. RIGHT/LEFT MAPPING

8. ROUND ROBINS Right/Left Mapping applies to the single hit

keys which are duplicated a tone apart.
Round robins are a way to ensure that
repeated notes don’t sound robotic and When enabled, the mapping on the
unnatural. We record the same note multiple keyboard changes to accommodate left
times and then cycle through them. Here you hand/right hand performances. For example,
can choose to reduce the number of round C1 is left hand samples only and D1 is right
robins that are being used. handed samples only for the technique
selected. With the feature on, the right
9. RESET ON TRANSPORT hand keys change hue on the keyboard as a
visual indicator.
If you’re worried about the effect of the
round robins making each run through of When disabled, the single hit keys behave
your session sound different, you can choose in a regular ‘two finger mapping’ state. For
to reset the round robins using the DAW example, playing C1 / D1 after one another
transport. (in any sequence) cycles through the round
robins for the technique, always recalling
samples in an alternating Right Left sticking
10. RESET FROM KEY
pattern.
You can also reset the round robins using a
Please see pg. 34 to see the generic
keyswitch. Choose that keyswitch here mapping layout for techniques in this library.

11. RR OPTIONS 15. TECHNIQUE EDITOR

Not available in the High Percussion library. Opens the Techniques Editor, allowing you to
customise and edit your preset (see pg. 14).
12. TRANSPOSE

Transpose the instrument up or down in 1

semitone increments.

ABBEY ROAD ORCHESTRA -HIGH PERCUSSION 13 USER MANUAL

TECHNIQUE EDITOR

In the Technique Editor you can remove and reorder techniques from the current preset.

1 2 3

1. CATEGORIES 3. TECHNIQUES ARRANGER

The Categories panel allows you to filter The panel on the right is where your current
between all available techniques for this articulations are displayed. Click and drag
specific preset. these to re-arrange the order. Clicking the ‘x’
in the top right corner deletes the technique.
2. TECHNIQUES Click the ‘trash-can’ in the upper corner to
remove all techniques completely in a single
click.
The central ‘Techniques’ panel shows all
available techniques for each preset. Click
the ‘+’ to add techniques back into your 4. CANCEL / SAVE
current preset.
Once you’re done, click ‘Save’. If you have
made a mistake and don’t want to save,
choose ‘Cancel’ instead to go back to your
previous settings.

ABBEY ROAD ORCHESTRA - HIGH PERCUSSION 14 USER MANUAL

SIGNAL MIXER
1
14
10
9
2

11
12
8
13
7
4 6
5

1. MIXER PRESETS Holding ‘shift’ and clicking solo allows

the user to solo more than one channel if
Load and save your own mixer presets desired.
here, this is a good way for you to share
your mixes across different instruments and 'Alt'+click on a solo unsolos all
presets. Click on the down arrows to save
and the up arrows to load. Alt'+click on a mute unmutes all

To rename a preset after saving or delete CMD mic removes all mute solos except on
a preset, browse to Abbey Road Orchestra the clicked
> Presets > Mix in the finder and edit the
.mpreset files. ALT+click on a mute removes all mutes but
leaves solos and vice versa.
2. ADVANCED
This behaviour can change by using "Solo
Latch"
3. GLOBAL
7. SIGNAL ON/OFF
When switched off any changes to mixer will
only affect the technique you have selected. Here you can turn signals on or off (you can
also turn them on by fading them up). If you
4. TECHNIQUE NAME turn a signal on, pay attention to the LED in
the top left of Abbey Road Orchestra, if it is
5. ARROWS flashing red, it means that the samples are
still loading into RAM and you should wait
before playing again to avoid glitches.
Click left and right to see another page of
signals.
8. MULTI OUTPUTS
6. SOLO / MUTE
When active, click below the signal fader
to assign that signal to a different stereo
Click S (Solo) to isolate that signal. Hear
output. This allows the users to keep signals
multiple signals isolated by clicking S below
multiple signals. separate in the DAW when mixing.

Click M (Mute) to silence a signal whilst 9. SIGNAL FADER

keeping it active. Silence multiple active
signals by clicking M below multiple signals. Adjust the level of each signal here, right-
click to learn MIDI cc# automation.
ABBEY ROAD ORCHESTRA -HIGH PERCUSSION 15 USER MANUAL
10. VIEW SELECT

Choose between the Technique Switcher,

Mixer and Effects.

11 . STEREO WIDTH

Adjust the stereo width of the close

Right-click to assign to a MIDI cc#. Affects

Close signals only.

12. PAN

Adjust the position of the close signals (1,

2, Close Ribbon and Pop Close) within the
stereo field.

13. INVERT

Click to swap the left and right channels.

14. LOCK

Click to lock the Mixer. This will prevent

further changes to the mixer by CC or
Mouse.

ABBEY ROAD ORCHESTRA - HIGH PERCUSSION 16 USER MANUAL

MAIN FX

3 4

1. VIEW SELECT

Choose between the Technique Switcher,

Mixer, Effects and the auto arranger. The
Technique Switcher and Effects are covered
in the following chapter of this manual.

2. TECHNIQUE NAME

3. REVERB

You can add additional reverb to the sound

here.

4. TIGHTNESS

At 0% this control cuts further into the

sample start to make the response sharper.

This control is often used when manually

recording into your DAW.

Turn it up afterwards and instead use a

negative delay into your DAW for ultimate
reality.

ABBEY ROAD ORCHESTRA -HIGH PERCUSSION 17 USER MANUAL

TOP MENU

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

1. LED 8. MIDI CH

Shows when an instrument is loaded by Set the MIDI channel that will control the
lighting solid green. If this flashes, your instrument here. If in doubt select “any” so
instrument is not fully loaded. that the instrument will react to any incoming
MIDI messages.
2. CPU METER
9. TUNE
An indication of how much your CPU is being
taxed, the green flash next to the CPU meter Move this knob to tune in increments of 0.01
will turn red when you are overloading it. of a semitone. CMD/CTRL-click to reset to
default.
3. DISK METER
10. PAN
How hard your hard drive is working. If this
is close to, or going over 100% it’s time to Pan the signal left / right. CMD/CTRL-click to
consider a faster drive. reset.

4. MEMORY 11. VOLUME

This shows how much RAM you are currently Control the overall volume of the instrument.
using in this instance of Abbey Road
Orchestra. While the preset is loading, 12. PRESET SETTINGS
this will show the instrument loading into
memory.
A
5. VOICES B

C
Shows how many voices are being used at
any one time. D

E
6. REFRESH F

G
Refresh the instrument, alt-click to refresh H
the whole plug-in. This can be useful if you
have hanging MIDI notes or have moved I

samples in your file system. J

7. MODE SWITCHING

This dropdown menu will be available when

the user has both versions of the product
installed. "Core" and "Pro".

Click here to switch the tier of the product.

ABBEY ROAD ORCHESTRA - HIGH PERCUSSION 18 USER MANUAL

A. DYNAMICS G. SOFT TAKE OVER

Different behaviours for the Dynamics fader. Soft Takeover OFF: The velocity of the rolls
/ longs are determined exclusively by the
1) Full Velocity Range. modwheel.
2) Velocity Mapped to Dynamics.
3) Compressed Velocity High. Soft Takeover ON: Roll keys are now velocity
4) Compressed Velocity Low. sensitive (i.e how hard or soft the key is
pressed determines the dynamic).
Velocity mapped to dynamics will allow you
to control short note velocity with the mod The modwheel only becomes active once the
wheel. This mode disables "Soft Takeover". user scrolls to the velocity level they have
triggered on the roll key.
Compressed settings will limit the dynamic
range to fixed dynamic layers and disable G. When using this feature, the ‘Dynamics’
Soft Takever. setting in the Preset Settings should be set
to ‘Full Velocity Range’ (the default state).
B. VELOCITY

Pick from 4 different velocity curves to suit H. SHORT RELEASE

your controllers touch.
Not used in this library.
C. RESET AND CLEAR CC MAPPINGS
I. SOLO LATCH
Clicking reset will set all of the CC mappings
for this instrument to the defaults - useful if With this enabled the solo buttons on the
you’ve got yourself in a mess! signal mixer will stack.

Clear will remove all CC mappings on the When turned off (default) they cancel each
plugin. other.

D. SYNC TO TEMPO J. PURGE UNUSED

Not used in this library. Shows the active status of ECO MODE.

E. VOICE CHOKING

Allows single hits to interrupt Rolls for more

precise placement of end hits.

This would also affects the "Toys" patch,

where "Guiros short scrapes" will interrupt
medium and long scrapes,

F. ROLL END

Natural end hits have been recorded and will

trigger on note-off if enabled here

ABBEY ROAD ORCHESTRA -HIGH PERCUSSION 19 USER MANUAL

13. PLUGIN SETTINGS

SHOW KEYSWITCHES

When this option is on, presets that have

multiple techniques will show available
keyswitches in red and the currently selected
technique(s) in yellow.

UNLOAD WITH MIXER FADER

COPY SETTINGS
Toggle this to unload data from RAM when
Common controller values will copy to other fader is pulled down to the bottom.
Spitfire plugins.
GAIN UNITS

Toggle this if you want your gain to be

displayed in dB instead of as a percentage.

MAKE CONTROLS GLOBAL

Common Controller values will remain when

switching techniques.

HELP TEXT

Turn this on to display parameter information

in the bottom left corner of the plug in.

DEFAULT SIZE

Set whether the instrument opens up DISABLE HOST AUTOMATION

collapsed or expanded by default.
Turn this on to enable the Host Automation
DEFAULT SCALE from the DAW.
How big the plugin UI is when opened. Press CHANGE KNOB DRAG TYPE
“get” to set the current scale or type a value
before pressing “Set” and “Save” Change the mouse behaviour when dragging
the Knob control.
ABBEY ROAD ORCHESTRA - HIGH PERCUSSION 20 USER MANUAL
DISABLE WARNINGS FROM MISSING ENABLE ECO LOAD
SAMPLES
Eco-Load when enabled only loads the
Hide an error in the plugin top left corner selected techniques into RAM.
which is visible when the library is missing its
content. When you key switch or select a new
articulation, this will then also load into
DISABLE AUTO HIDE KNOB PARAMETER RAM.
POPUP
Pressing the refresh icon in the top menu
When enabled, clicking the knob will always will reset the memory usage back to the
shows the fx controls menu. curently select technique.

ENABLE AUTOMATIC EXCLUSIVE MIC

GROUP BEHAVIOUR

Disable if you want mics to be un grouped

together.

For example, when enabled, enabling the

Ambient mic, will disable the Mix Signals

SWITCH MIDDLE C OCTAVE NUMBER

Change middle C value between C3 and

C4. Useful for DAWs that use different MIDI
standards and key switches are one octave
out.

ABBEY ROAD ORCHESTRA -HIGH PERCUSSION 21 USER MANUAL

 PITCH/STRETCH QUALITY

This option allows you to override the default

pitch/time quality to improve performance or
improve audio quality.

MAXIMUM PITCH VOICES

Limit the number of voices triggered at any

one time. Lower values can aid CPU.
MAXIMUM VOICES
ENABLE MEMORY MAPPING
Enter the maximum number of voices that
can play at once. More voices = More CPU Turn off for windows machines for better
and memory used. performance.

PRELOAD SIZE

The minimum number of sample values

preloaded into memory for each audio
recording. Increase for slower hard drives.
Default is 12288.

DEFAULT STEREO OUTPUTS

The default number of outputs for the

Microphone routings.

STREAM BUFFER SIZE

The number of sample values kept in

memory for each audio recording stream. PLUGIN
Increase for slower hard drives.
Under this heading you can choose a default
MASTER TUNING preset to load, click on the preset name and
choose your preferred preset from the list.
Change the default tuning of the plugin. For
example A = 440hz or A = 432 HZ.

ABBEY ROAD ORCHESTRA - HIGH PERCUSSION 22 USER MANUAL

MICROPHONE SIGNALS

MIX 1 TREE 2

Overheads, Outriggers 1 and a curated blend A tighter, closer decca tree formed from mics
of spot microphones. with a more directional pattern, suited to
faster, more detailed material.
MIX 2
OUTRIGGERS 1
A tighter mix, formed from Tree 2, Mids,
Outriggers 2 with a curated blend of spot
microphones. Used in conjunction with either tree to
obtain a wider image. This pair utilises
omnidirectional mics to reproduce the full
SECTION OVERHEAD
width of Studio One.
A set of large diaphragm condenser
microphones above the orchestral section OUTRIGGERS 2
capturing a clear representation of the
instruments in the space. Used together with either tree to obtain a
wider image. This pair uses mics with a more
CLOSE 1 directional pattern, pulling the edges of the
room inwards.
A blend of spot mics close to the source.
Experiment with the balance of all Close mics MIDS
and Sec. Overhead to achieve the desired
close sound. A pair of valve REDD mics placed between
the conductor and the source which adds
CLOSE 2 extra focus to the sound when combined
with the Tree and Outriggers.
An alternative blend of spot mics which add
body to the source. Experiment with the AMBIENTS
balance of all Close mics and Sec. Overhead
to achieve the desired close sound. A pristine pair of small diaphragm
omnidirectional microphones to the rear of
CLOSE RIBBONS the room for a natural ambience.

A pair of close ribbon mics capturing a

VINTAGE 1
rounded and detailed image. Experiment
with the balance of all Close mics and Sec.
Overhead to achieve the desired close A pair of original 1940s RM1B microphones
sound. placed in front of the conductor, combined
with some classic ribbons to form a vintage
scoring stage sound.
TREE 1

A decca tree formed of Abbey Road’s

finest trio of classic valve omnidirectional
microphones creating a lush and full sound.

Often the start point of any mix.

ABBEY ROAD ORCHESTRA -HIGH PERCUSSION 23 USER MANUAL

VINTAGE 2

A pair of classic 44BX ribbon microphones

placed by the conductor for an alternative
vintage scoring stage sound.

POP CLOSE

A mix of close mics panned centrally to

give a flexible image not restricted to the
orchestral layout.

SPILL

A summation of spot mics placed around the

other sections. These capture the natural
'spill' from the source across the orchestra
for added realism.

ABBEY ROAD ORCHESTRA - HIGH PERCUSSION 24 USER MANUAL

INSTRUMENTS / TECHNIQUES

BONGOS DARBUKA

A pair of Cuban bongos adept at carrying An Arabian hand drum ideally suited to
strong rhythms with a very focussed and fast intricate rhythms, producing bright
articulate tone. overtones with a distinctive colour.

Hands Hands

Single strikes and rolls performed with the Single strikes performed with the palm and
hands on the head of the drums in various fingers on the head of the drum in various
positions to produce a variety of textures striking positions for the traditional darbuka
and accents sound.

Sticks Brushes

Single strikes and rolls performed with Single strikes and rolls performed with
wooden drum sticks producing a well brushes on the head of the drum which
defined attack with added presence. accentuate the instrument’s top end.

All in One All in One

All available beaters and techniques for the All available beaters and techniques for the
drum presented across the keyboard. drum presented across the keyboard.

CONGAS DJEMBE

A Latin American staple, congas combine a A traditional African hand drum, the djembe
forward tone with balanced and controlled produces a deep fundamental and strong
resonance presented here in a set of 3. overtones.

Hands Hands

Single strikes and rolls performed with the Single strikes performed with the hands on
hands on the head of the drums in various the head of the drum in various positions to
positions to produce a variety of textures produce a variety of textures and accents
and accents.
Brushes

Single strikes and rolls performed with

brushes on the head of the drum for a
brighter, crisper timbre with reduced
fundamentals.

All in One

All available beaters and techniques for the

drum presented across the keyboard.

ABBEY ROAD ORCHESTRA -HIGH PERCUSSION 25 USER MANUAL

LOG DRUMS PLASTICS

Hollow hardwood instruments with pitched A set of plastics struck with sticks spread
‘tongues’ struck with beaters producing a across the hall creating a punchy ‘street
very organic, woody sound ensemble’

Rubber Mallets Sticks

Single hits performed with rubber mallets Single hits performed with wooden drum
producing a balanced and articulate tone sticks in different striking positions
which brings out the character of these
instruments ROTO TOMS
MINI BONGOS A classic set of 5 rototoms producing a clear
and well-defined tone with plenty of carrying
A pair of miniature bongos - a lighter, power.
delicate alternative the traditional bongo
drums Sizes 6”, 8”, 10”, 12”, 14”

Hands Sticks

Single strikes and rolls performed with the Techniques performed with wooden drum
hands on the head of the drums in various sticks producing a well-defined, punchy
positions to produce a variety of textures attack
and accents
Brushes
OCTOBANS
Techniques performed with dense nylon
brushes producing a crisp attack with
A set of 4 octobans - and unpitched
reduced fundamentals
alternative to boobams - producing a fast
attack with a clear fundamental and a tight
All in One
resonance
All available beaters and techniques for the
Sticks
drum presented across the keyboard
Hits and rolls performed with wooden drum
sticks producing a well-defined attack and a
strong mid range

Rods

Hits and rolls performed with wooden rods

producing an articulate attack with reduced
fundamentals

All in One

All available beaters and techniques for the

drum presented across the keyboard

ABBEY ROAD ORCHESTRA - HIGH PERCUSSION 26 USER MANUAL

SHIME DAIKO SNARE

A traditional Japanese drum with a very A vintage 15" diameter snare drum with a
tight, focussed sound which lends itself to chrome over brass shell producing a full-
energetic rhythmic patterns. bodied sound with a detailed top end

Taiko Sticks Sticks (Snares On)

Techniques performed with traditional taiko Techniques performed with drum sticks and
sticks on the head of the drum the snares of the drum engaged

Rods Sticks (Snares Off)

Techniques performed with wooden rods Techniques performed with drum sticks and
producing an articulate attack with reduced the snares off, producing the pure sound of
fundamentals the head and shell

Hands Brushes

Techniques performed with the hands on the Techniques performed with wire brushes
head of the drum and the snares engaged for a more delicate
timbre
All in One: All available beaters and
techniques for the drum presented across All in One
the keyboard
All available beaters and techniques for the
FIELD DRUM drum presented across the keyboard

A 15” field snare drum with a deep maple

shell, producing a much lower tone than a
regular snare drum with a rounded character.

Sticks (Snares On)

Techniques performed with drum sticks and

the snares of the drum engaged

Sticks (Snares Off)

Techniques performed drum sticks and the

snares off, producing the pure sound of the
head and shell

Brushes

Techniques performed with wire brushes

and the snares engaged for a more delicate
timbre

All in One

All available beaters and techniques for the

drum presented across the keyboard

ABBEY ROAD ORCHESTRA -HIGH PERCUSSION 27 USER MANUAL

PICCOLO SNARE A PICCOLO SNARE B

A 12" diameter piccolo snare drum with a A 13" diameter piccolo snare drum with a
shallow hammered steel shell producing an shallow maple shell producing a crisp and
extremely tight sound to cut across even the articulate sound with present upper mids
densest arrangements
Sticks (Snares On)
Sticks (Snares On)
Techniques performed with drum sticks and
Techniques performed with drum sticks and the snares of the drum engaged
the snares of the drum engaged
Sticks (Snares Off)
Sticks (Snares Off)
Techniques performed drum sticks and the
Techniques performed with drum sticks and snares off, producing the pure sound of the
the snares off, producing the pure sound of head and shell
the head and shell
Brushes
Brushes
Techniques performed with wire brushes
Techniques performed with wire brushes and the snares engaged for a more delicate
and the snares engaged for a more delicate timbre
timbre
All in One
All in One
All available beaters and techniques for the
All available beaters and techniques for the drum presented across the keyboard
drum across the keyboard
TEMPLE BLOCKS

Hollow blocks struck with mallets producing

woody sounds with a focussed midrange

Hard Mallets

Single hits performed with hard mallets

producing a bright attack

Soft Mallets

Single hits performed with hard mallets

producing a mellow attack

All in One

All available beaters and techniques for the

instrument presented across the keyboard

ABBEY ROAD ORCHESTRA - HIGH PERCUSSION 28 USER MANUAL

TIMABLES TOYS

Latin American drums with a single head on A collection of smaller percussion

a metal shell, played with light sticks and
instruments for adding additional
producing strong overtones
colours and textures
Sticks
• Claves x 6
Techniques performed with thin timbale • Castanets (Pairs: Machine + Handle)
sticks on the heads and shells producing a • Ratchet
range of interesting textures • Vibraslap
• Whip x 2 (Heavy / Light)
WOOD BLOCKS • Guiros x 2 (Wood / Plastic)
• Shakers x 4
• Caxixi (Basket Shakers) x 2
Hardwood instruments instruments struck
• Maracas (pair)
with mallets producing high pitched sounds
which cut above the orchestra

Hard Mallets

Single hits performed with hard mallets

producing a bright attack

Soft Mallets

Single hits performed with hard mallets

producing a mellow attack

All in One

All available beaters and techniques for the

instrument presented across the keyboard

ABBEY ROAD ORCHESTRA -HIGH PERCUSSION 29 USER MANUAL

APPENDIX A — FAQS AND TROUBLESHOOT
Q: WHAT ARE THE SYSTEM Q: I SEE A RED EXCLAMATION MARK
REQUIREMENTS? IN THE TOP LEFT OF ABBEY ROAD
ORCHESTRA, WHAT DOES THIS
MAC MEAN?
Mac OS X 10.15 to OS14 This means that there is an error, you can
click the exclamation mark to open a log
Minimum: 2.8GHz i5 (quad-core), 8GB RAM with further details. It is likely that using the
“Repair” and “Locate Library” features in the
Recommended: 2.6GHz i7 (six-core, 2019), Spitfire Audio App will solve the problem
16GB RAM, Apple Silicon but if not, contact our support team at
spitfireaudio.com/support and attach the log.
SSD drive for installs advised!
Q: CAN I INSTALL ON MORE THAN
WINDOWS
ONE COMPUTER?
Windows 10 and Windows 11 (latest Service
Pack, 64-bit) With our products you have two licenses.
This means that you are allowed to download
Minimum: Intel 2.8 GHz i5 (quad-core) or and install on two computers you own, say
AMD Ryzen 5. your main rig and your mobile rig. If you have
purchased the library on a hard drive, you
Recommended: Intel 2.6 GHz i7 (six-core, should copy the contents of the drive on to
2019) or AMD R7 2700. the destination machine before completing
the download with the Spitfire App. If you
SSD drive for installs advised! downloaded Abbey Road Orchestra, you can
copy the library folder over to the second
machine and then use the “Repair” feature in
Q: I WANT TO RESET THE PLUGIN
the Spitfire Audio App.
SETTINGS TO THE DEFAULT
Q: I CAN’T SEE THIS IN THE
You can delete the .settings file to reset the
settings to default. This is located at: KONTAKT LIBRARIES PANE AND
WHEN I TRY AND LOAD IT INTO
Users/username/Music/Spitfire Audio - on a KONTAKT IT SAYS NO LIBRARY
Mac FOUND
C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\ This library does not run in Kontakt, it is a
Spitfire Audio - on a PC. standalone plug-in that you can run in your
chosen DAW.
Q: MY LIST OF PRESETS IS EMPTY,
HOW DO I SOLVE THIS? Q: HOW DO I AUTHORIZE ABBEY
ROAD ORCHESTRA ON A MACHINE
If you have moved your Abbey Road NOT CONNECTED TO THE
Orchestra Library folder, you can solve
INTERNET?
this problem by using the “Locate Library”
feature in the Spitfire Audio App.
It not possible to authorise Abbey Road
Orchestra on a machine not connected to
If this does not solve the problem, the library
the internet. Authorisation is done with
likely needs reauthorising, to do this, use the
the Spitfire Audio App and an internet
“repair” feature in the Spitfire Audio App.
connection is required.

ABBEY ROAD ORCHESTRA - HIGH PERCUSSION 30 USER MANUAL

Q: HOW CAN I REDOWNLOAD A the installation folder you chose when you
PRODUCT? started the install. If everything is working
normally you’ll see various files appearing in
This can easily be done via your Spitfire the folder (or one of its sub-folders).
Audio App. To reset both your entire library
download or the latest update; • If your download gets stuck and is
continually cycling and not resuming, please
• Open up the Spitfire Audio App and log in get in touch with us, giving us as much detail
with your account email and password. as possible about your set up. It would be
helpful if you can tell us your operating
• Select the product artwork you wish to re- system, where you are downloading from
download (your country, and also whether you’re at
home or work), your ISP, and whether there
• On this page is a “cog wheel”. Select this, are any proxy servers or firewalls between
choose “reset” from the menu. Then “Reset your computer and the internet.
Entire Download” (for a full download) or
(Latest Update) for the latest update. Q: I HAVE FAST INTERNET, WHY IS
MY DOWNLOAD SLOW?
This will reset your latest update ready for
install again. You can repeat this process for We have no direct influence on your actual
any of the libraries you own. download speeds, our libraries are hosted
on Amazon cloudfront servers which are
Note that there is a limit to how many times normally very quick but it may well be that
you can reset your downloads in a certain at certain times of the day when traffic is
time frame. If you do exceed your reset limit particularly busy, your ISP may throttle your
please get in touch. connection speeds.

Q: DIFFICULTIES IN DOWNLOADING / We would advise you to leave your download

INSTALLING running overnight as speeds should ramp
up at less busy times. Our Spitfire App
Customers may find that they have some downloader aims to use as much of the
difficulties in the downloading process. If you available bandwidth as possible to give you
find that you are having some trouble, please the quickest possible speeds, and may take
check the list below for possible causes: several minutes to reach its peak.

• The formatting of your drive, if it is FAT32 Q: CAN I TRY BEFORE I BUY?

this will cause errors, because there is a
maximum file size with this format of 4GB No - it is not currently possible to demo our
and our download files will exceed this limit. products.
To solve this problem, reformat your drive or
use a different drive. We recommend NTFS If you go to our Youtube channel you’ll see
on PC and Mac OS Extended on Mac. many walkthroughs containing detailed info
Other possible issues: about all our products -- you can hear them
being played in real time with no smoke and
• Spitfire App freezes in the “Extracting” mirrors!
stage for hours. This may be because our
libraries are often very large files, and this Q: MY LIBRARIES ARE NOT SHOWING
is the stage where the compressed files are UP IN MY SPITFIRE APP
extracted and placed in their final locations
on the hard drive. There could be hundreds A handful of customers may find that when
of GB of content to unpack, so it really they log into their Spitfire App, some of
can take hours. If you’re unsure whether their previously purchased products do not
it has crashed or is extracting files, visit

ABBEY ROAD ORCHESTRA -HIGH PERCUSSION 31 USER MANUAL

show up in the ‘Installed’ section or in the • On this page is a “cog wheel”. Select this,
‘Download Ready’ section either. It may choose “reset” from the menu. Then “Reset
be that you have purchased these under Entire Download” (for a full download) or
another email address. Checking other (Latest Update) for the latest update.
possible email addresses for your previous
purchases may help to find these missing • This will reset your latest update ready for
products. If this is not the case, and these install again.
missing products were purchased a few
years ago, please create a support ticket You can repeat this process for any other
telling us your account email address, and updates you wish.
any serial numbers you may have to go
with these missing products. Our support If you do not see the option to reset your
team can also merge one or more accounts download in your Spitfire Audio App, we
together if you’d like to consolidate all your would advise to download the latest version
purchases in one place. of the Spitfire App from spitfireaudio.com/
info/library-manager/.
The more information we have, the quicker
we can get you back up and running! Q: I’VE BEEN WAITING AGES FOR MY
DOWNLOAD LINKS?
Q: HOW DO I UPDATE MY
PRODUCTS? We run all our orders through a fraud
checking process. The automatic fraud check
The main premise of downloading our takes 20 minutes (but can take up to an hour
products is that our Spitfire App downloads during a very busy period, eg. Black Friday) If
into the folder you choose, so it is important your order gets caught at this stage, we run
to choose the folder above where you want a manual order check, and this can delay the
the download to go. The best file path for processing of your order for up to 24 hours.
our products is something very simple, a
long file path will cause errors as there is a You should however receive an order
character limit on how far the Spitfire App confirmation email IMMEDIATELY upon
can read. We advise a file path of something placing your order. This confirms that
along the lines of: Samples Drive > Spitfire your order has successfully been logged
Audio in our system and that your payment was
successfully taken. Please check your junk
When it comes to downloading / updating folders before contacting our support.
- if you have a folder called ‘Spitfire Audio’
always point the Spitfire App to the folder
Spitfire Audio - never go into this folder and CAN I DOWNLOAD ON A PC, THEN
choose the actual library in question. TRANSFER TO A MAC OR VICE
VERSA?
Q: HOW DO I REDOWNLOAD THE
LATEST UPDATE? Yes, you can copy the library folder and
plugin files over to the second machine
With the continuous improvements to our and then use the “Repair” and “Locate
Spitfire Audio App, we have incorporated the Library” features in the Spitfire Audio App.
ability to reset your own downloads. Please note that although the majority of
This can easily be done via your Spitfire the download can be done on a separate
Audio App. machine, you will always need an internet
Open up the Spitfire Audio App and log in connection to finish the authorisation
with your account email and password. process.

• Select the product artwork you wish to re-

download

ABBEY ROAD ORCHESTRA - HIGH PERCUSSION 32 USER MANUAL

Q: HOW DO I DOWNLOAD Q: I’VE FORGOTTEN MY PASSWORD?
PRODUCTS ON MAC OSX 10.9?
If you have forgotten your password, please
The version of the Spitfire App needed to see this link spitfireaudio.com/my-account/
install Abbey Road Orchestra only supports login/, and click ‘Forgotten Password’. If
Mac OSX 10.13 and upwards. at some point in the past you asked us to
merge two or more accounts but have since
Q: I HAVE FOUND A BUG forgotten, you MAY find that the forgotten
password isn’t working for the email address
In some cases we can’t squash them all and you asked us to merge FROM. In this case,
bugs shamefully make their way through. please contact support with your name, and
If you think you have found a bug, please any email addresses you think we might
contact us with all the relevant information; know about, and we’ll work out what has
happened.
• A description of the bug you have found

• A screencast (video) of the bug happening,

or an audio example

• The exact preset name (or presets) in

question and also the library giving us as
much detail as possible will help us get to
the bottom of the issue.

Q: WHAT IS YOUR REFUNDS /

RETURNS POLICY?

If you have NOT completed the download

/ installation process, and bought within
14 days then we CAN refund / return your
product, please contact support with your
account email address and order number
so we can handle this quickly. If you HAVE
completed the installation process (even
if you’ve not yet registered your serial
number), please see our EULA in regards to
why we do not accept refunds and returns.
We can refund hard drive orders up until
the point when the drive is dispatched from
our office. This is usually 1-2 days after you
order.

ABBEY ROAD ORCHESTRA -HIGH PERCUSSION 33 USER MANUAL

 APPENDIX B — DRUM MAPPING GUIDE
For individual beater techniques there are a possible 5 mapping blocks:

- All techniques make use of Block 1

- Majority of techniques use a combination of Blocks 1-4 (usually 1+2 or 1+3)
- A minority of techniques make use of Blocks 1-5.

The blocks are designed to keep the intervalic relationship is consistent. This means it
is possible to transpose midi data up or down onto any active block and achieve similar
techniques should that technique be available.

Where a drum has 2 pitches (e.g. Bongos), the higher drum is mirrored an octave above.

The product has a new feature called Right/Left Mapping where drum hit keys can be split
to isolate the Left and Right hand recordings. When engaged, the 1st hit key = Left / 2nd Hit
key = Right. The second key is always up a whole tone.

VISUAL LAYOUT

THE EXCEPTIONS

1) In the Toys Patch, Claves and Whip techniques do not follow this pattern.

2) ‘All in One’ techniques map all available beaters across the keyboard. Each beater
type is grouped to make use of the same interval relationships/blocks but may start on
Block 3 or Block 4 to save space.

ABBEY ROAD ORCHESTRA - HIGH PERCUSSION 34 USER MANUAL

APPENDIX C — DEFAULT CC MAPPINGS

Dynamics 1
Global Gain 7
Global Pan 10
Expression 11
Reverb 19

ABBEY ROAD ORCHESTRA -HIGH PERCUSSION 35 USER MANUAL

 © S P I T F I R E A U D I O H O L D I N G S LT D
MMXXIII

ABBEY ROAD ORCHESTRA - HIGH PERCUSSION 36 USER MANUAL